Kialegee Tribal Town can't sue Muscogee Nation officials for raid of gaming site

Posted: Wednesday, August 30, 2017

The Kialegee Tribal Town has been dealt another setback in its attempt to open a casino on an Indian allotment in Oklahoma.

The tribe sued officials of the rival Muscogee (Creek) Nation in federal court in connection with a raid of the allotment on August 16. But a federal judge quickly dismissed the case due to lack of jurisdiction.

"The court finds that it lacks subject matter jurisdiction over this case because plaintiffs have not shown in their complaint that the court would be required to resolve a substantial and disputed question of federal law," Judge Claire Eagan wrote in a decision on Tuesday, just five days after the Kialegee Tribal Town filed the suit.

Eagan suggested the Kialegee Tribal Town pursue the case in Muscogee Nation court instead. The Muscogee Nation is already prosecuting the owner of the allotment for alleged violations of its gaming laws.

"The Nation has only sought to enforce its laws in this matter and the filing of all actions in federal court by the other parties have solely been an attempt to avoid the Nation’s jurisdiction and the consequences of violating the Nation’s laws," the Muscogee Nation Attorney General’s Office said in a statement to Mvskoke Media after the case was dismissed.

The law requires gaming to be conducted on "Indian lands" over which a tribe exercises jurisdiction. In an earlier situation, the NIGC said the Kialegee Tribal Town did not meet the jurisdictional test when it tried to open a casino on a nearby allotment.

The tribe has filed a separate lawsuit in federal court in hopes of confirming its jurisdiction over the allotment where the raid occurred.